evilc66 Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 I'm not switching per se, but just trying other options. The Meanwells can be usefull in larger arrays, and can save some money when you factor in the cost of Buckpucks and power supplies. Buckpucks have also had a not so perfect reliability track record, although the customer service has been good on replacements. Cost does add up. Take a 100 LED array for example with 50/50 white and blue. To control the colors individually, you would need 8 Meanwell ELN-60-48P drivers or 18 Buckpucks. With the Buckpucks, you now need two 24v 12.5A power supplies at $25 each. Meanwells needed to get the job done would cost $288 (assuming the $36 each price), while the Buckpucks with power supplies would cost $410. $122 price difference. Link to comment
Ryan110484 Posted April 28, 2009 Author Share Posted April 28, 2009 I'm doing an 84 LED unit, so I think that is why I am not really seeing the cost benefit. The buckpucks factor exactly into 84 LEDs evenly where as the meanwells do not. However, if I dropped my led amount by 6 then the meanwells do have a significant advantage in cost over the buckpucks. Link to comment
evilc66 Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 What price are you using for the Buckpucks to calculate your cost? Link to comment
Ryan110484 Posted April 28, 2009 Author Share Posted April 28, 2009 What price are you using for the Buckpucks to calculate your cost? Future has the 1A dimming version for 14.99 or the quantity that I am ordering I can get them for 15.19 from luxeonstar. Both are the pin version because I am planning on soldering them to a PCB to keep the wires to a minimum. Link to comment
evilc66 Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 I see. Works out to $10 more with the Buckpucks when you factor in 2 power supplies (8.5A units from MPJA @ $20 each), compared to the Meanwells with the group buy price. Six of one.... Link to comment
Ryan110484 Posted April 28, 2009 Author Share Posted April 28, 2009 Question to those who know a lot about selecting components. I am back on the idea of a DIY led driver because I found two boards that the zetex LED drivers can be mounted on. Driver- http://www.diodes.com/datasheets/ZXLD1360.pdf PCB's- http://www.busboard.us/pdfs/BPS-MAR-SMT3U-001.pdf http://www.busboard.us/pdfs/BPS-MAR-SP3UT-001.pdf If you scroll down through the driver data sheet to the middle of page 18 its starts talking about component selection. Is there anyone out there who knows exactly how this works? The data sheet is very detailed about what it should use and I am kind of worried about selecting the wrong part. I don't mind frying a few components but when it comes to blowing up a string of 6 LEDs I would rather spend extra on a pre-made driver. Anyone interested in trying it out for me? Or if you know what is needed I can buy it and mount it. I would just like to make sure its right. Here are the parts that I have found so far. Inductor- http://mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.asp...2-SDR0805-470KL Capacitor- http://mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.asp...2-SDR0805-470KL Diode- Haven't searched yet.... Resistor- Just need a .1ohm for 1A driver Link to comment
evilc66 Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 Your capacitor link isn't working. The inductor value should work fine with reasonable supply voltages. Once you start pushing the limits of the input voltage, the inductor value should increase. You won't cook any components if your values are off a little, but still inside the range recommended. Where you can have issues is not picking components that have the correct maximum voltage or current limits. For example, your inductor should have a slightly higher current rating. It's at it's limit right now, and will get hot. Link to comment
Ryan110484 Posted April 29, 2009 Author Share Posted April 29, 2009 So everything should be a bit above 1A and 24V? Since I will have 24V PS. Link to comment
Ryan110484 Posted April 29, 2009 Author Share Posted April 29, 2009 LEDs have been shipped....ordered the fans and AS from newegg today as well. Now its time to order the heat sink since the LEDs are on the way and there is no going back. Link to comment
Ryan110484 Posted May 11, 2009 Author Share Posted May 11, 2009 Does anyone know how I could repair holes in this heatsink? Is it really even possible? Link to comment
evilc66 Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 It's possible, but not worth the effort. Link to comment
Ryan110484 Posted May 19, 2009 Author Share Posted May 19, 2009 Can I use one potentiometer to dim 7 buckpucks if they are all wired together? Link to comment
Ryan110484 Posted May 23, 2009 Author Share Posted May 23, 2009 Is it possible to wire a buck puck like the following? ctrl pin to microcontroller such as the arduino to 5k ohm pot to the ref pin I eventually want to have my led system all automated but I would still like to have a manual override to cap the brightness of the LEDs by just turning the pot on the fixture. Link to comment
evilc66 Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 No. The REF pin is just a voltage source. When hooking up the Buckpuck to a controller, you are now giving the driver a digital signal (pwm), not an analog signal (0-5v). Can't do both. Hook the pot up to controller and use it to adjust the max intensity, while using other inputs (buttons, pots, etc...) to change you color temp. Link to comment
Ryan110484 Posted May 26, 2009 Author Share Posted May 26, 2009 Here is an update on progress so far.... Link to comment
Ryan110484 Posted May 27, 2009 Author Share Posted May 27, 2009 Finished the wiring last night and received the power supplies and chords today. I am now just waiting for a few miscellaneous parts from mouser.com so that I can mount the drivers and power up the LEDs. Lets hope I don't blow anything up. Link to comment
Ryan110484 Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 Does anyone have any clue which pin # the Ref and the Ctl would hook into on this potentiometer? This is the only information that I can find for data- http://www.mouser.com/catalog/specsheets/TW-700131.pdf Never mind I figured it out... Link to comment
cdelicath Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 :eek: damn that's alot of LED's Link to comment
Ryan110484 Posted June 2, 2009 Author Share Posted June 2, 2009 Let there be power..... Link to comment
Ryan110484 Posted June 4, 2009 Author Share Posted June 4, 2009 So I mounted the fixture over my aquarium tonight. I knew I was going to like it a lot more then what I previously had....but I have never been so stunned in all of my life by something that I did. Now I know it was just mounting a bunch of stuff together but holy crap!! This thing is incredible! Here are some pictures that I just took. The fixture is mounted about a foot off the aquarium still. I plan on moving it closer tomorrow and the LEDs are dimmed down to about 30-40%. You must excuse my coral. I had a major global warming event about a month and a half ago before I had my chiller hooked up and it cooked my aquarium. I lost a ton of frags and coral, (if anyone would like to donate any.....) Anyway, here are the pictures. I can't figure out how to take pictures of my aquarium without the flash for some reason...they always look horrible. Blue and White White Only Blue Only Link to comment
uwwmatt Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Thats a pretty sweet build. If you don't mind my asking, how much did the total thing cost you to build? Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.